Switch
by Flierworks
Summary: Rukawa and Sendoh wake up to find that they have swapped souls. Set in the original manga timeline, post-Sannoh. Eventual SenRu.
1. Chapter 1

**_Chapter One_**

_Why are we having this match?_

Sendoh had first asked him that question after their first one-on-one on a street basketball court near Ryonan, when both were so exhausted they could barely see the rim of the hoop any longer.

_You're still not as good as Sendoh._ It wasn't that he needed to prove anything to his coach, but Rukawa had been curious. If their official matches were anything to go by, Rukawa thought he had matched up well against the Ryonan ace.

Now, though, Rukawa wasn't sure why he was here. It was a Saturday after the nationals, and instead of practicing in the gym like usual he had rode the train, walked to the street basketball court nearest to Ryonan high school to play. And had bumped into the Ryonan captain in a leisurely jog around the school premises.

Recognition registered on the Ryonan's ace face as he spotted Rukawa. "Hey."

Rukawa passed him, ignoring the greeting.

"Hey! Rukawa!"

He sighed imperceptibly, turning around to find Sendoh waving and grinning at him like an idiot before the boy came forward, so close that he was now staring directly at Rukawa's face, his spiky hair and ridiculous good looks taking up the whole of Rukawa's vision. Rukawa didn't know why that made him feel uncomfortable. He looked away fixedly, out the corner of his eye he could make out a playground with children running in groups that just seemed to be the most interesting thing in the world. He could still feel Sendoh's scrutinizing gaze on him, travelling from his forehead to his nose to his lips... Damn it. Rukawa coughed, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, finally lifting his gaze to meet Sendoh's, and then noticed that the other boy looked confused. "What," He snapped irritably.

"You're Rukawa from Shohoku, right?"

Rukawa spun on his heel.

Sendoh yelped. "Ah, wait, wait! Rukawa! Hey."

And then Sendoh said the magic words. "One-on-one?"

He spun around again.

#####

Rukawa crouched, waist low and feet apart, watching Sendoh's dribbling form intently as he waited for an indication of the other man's attack. Sendoh handled the ball with surprising grace for someone of his frame, not in the furiously energetic way Sakuragi did, but with a natural finesse that came with years of practice until it seemed almost careless, yet left no weakness to be exploited.

"So you played Kitasawa," He said.

"Sawakita."

Sendoh looked confused. Rukawa took advantage of his surprise to steal the ball, dribbling once, twice and driving his way towards the basket to deliver a lay-up. _Swoosh._

"His name is Sawakita, " _Idiot_, he almost said, before he remembered that he owed Sendoh a favour for that. _Be nice_, he reminded himself, and scowled his displeasure instead.

Sendoh retrieved the ball, scratching his head apologetically, before sending the ball flying in the air. He turned to look just as the ball fell neatly into the hoop, and turned back to realize that Sendoh was standing, arms-raised, at the edge of the three-point line.

_Screw being nice._

"Bastard." He said before he could stop himself.

Sendoh just looked at him and burst out laughing. "You really are a sore loser."

Rukawa shrugged and made his way to the end of the court to retrieve the ball. The days were getting shorter, he realized, the sun setting on the horizon in splendid hues of orange and crimson. From the center, Sendoh called out to him. "What's the score? I lost count."

He felt a surge of irritation. "98-98, first one to a hundred wins." This guy really needed to put in more effort. "My turn," He added as a reminder.

Sendoh just flashed him another of his smiles. "Aa." Rukawa frowned slightly. There was something off-putting about his smiles - they were friendly enough, but there was also something else in them that lit a competitive fire in him. Rukawa dribbled lightly as Sendoh guarded, changing his pace quickly and surging forward, faking a shoot and taking advantage of the split second confusion to drive his way towards the hoop, sending the ball into the basket with a resounding dunk.

100-98.

#####

They sprawled out on the court. Sendoh took a satisfyingly long drink from his bottle, staring at nothing in particular. Beside him, Rukawa was wiping the sweat out of his eyes on his armband.

"How's Sakuragi?"

Rukawa looked thoughtful for a moment. "Busy with rehab. He hurt his back during the Sannoh match, so he's getting time off to get better."

Sendoh regarded the news with surprise. Sakuragi was the type of guy who defied expectations. He could slam his head into the backboard and still bounce back up right away with a kind of energy that made everyone else sit up and pay attention. It was hard to imagine that self-proclaimed genius sustaining any kind of severe injury that required external help to get better, but then again, this was basketball and none of them were new to injuries.

"Well, send my regards to him."

Rukawa nodded.

"Tell him this tensai is waiting for him."

Rukawa snorted. He laughed. Dark clouds had started to gather in the sky and there was a loud rumble of thunder.

"Well, that's it then. We better go before it starts raining." Sendoh hoisted himself up, dusting his hands on the back of his jersey. Rukawa drew the strings on his bag and stood up, handing Sendoh his duffel wordlessly. "Ah, thanks." Sendoh replied absent-mindedly, eyes still fixed on the sky to scan for any indication of he impending shower. It didn't look encouraging. The dark clouds had given way to large raindrops, pattering around them with a rhythm. Sendoh pulled his jacket over himself and broke into a light jog. "Come on. We can make it to the station if we run."

They made it to the station just as another loud rumble of thunder sent the rain falling in unbridled cascades. "Phew," Sendoh exclaimed, his handsome features lighting into an easy smile, making Rukawa's heart skip a beat. "Just in time!"

Rukawa really needed to sleep. He had just thought of Sendoh as handsome. Rukawa was not bothered by appearances, although the growing membership of the Rukawa Brigade had given him an idea of his physical attractiveness in the eyes of the opposite gender, but Sendoh? He… had never thought much about Sendoh, not in _that_ way at least.

He sighed, bid his goodbye and headed for the platform, noticing only several moments later that Sendoh remained at his side. Now he was hallucinating. Rukawa had heard somewhere that people started to hallucinate if they didn't get enough sleep. Maybe that was what it was, he told himself. After all, he needed more sleep than the average person.

"Um, Rukawa?" The hallucination spoke, tapping him on his shoulder.

No, this couldn't be real. Breathe, he told himself, breathe. It was going to be okay.

"Yes," He replied dazedly, shaking his head slightly as if he expected it to go away.

"It's pouring. I don't think you'll make it home without getting drenched. Should we grab dinner? There's a good place for ramen just around the corner, we could make it there without getting caught in the rain."

"I'm… uh," He stammered, but Sendoh's hand was already on his elbow, dragging them forward insistently through the rush hour crowd at the station.

#####

They entered the shop. It was a tiny place, with a single counter and barely enough space for the kitchen, and people sidled up against one another to move in and out of the shop. "Ah, Sendoh-kun, good to see you!" A man in his mid-thirties, presumably the owner, greeted Sendoh warmly, ushering the towards the seats at the corner. "You'll have the usual tonkotsu, up-sized, I assume, and your friend…" He trailed off, regarding Rukawa good-naturedly with a smile.

"Ah, I almost forgot." Sendoh hung their bags on the rack against the wall and settled into his seat. "Oita-san, this is Rukawa from Shohoku, the ace player. My biggest rival." He added, winking at Rukawa. "Wow, that is surprising! Sendoh openly admitting that he has a rival." The owner exclaimed. "You must be really good at basketball, then." He regarded Rukawa, then the beaming Sendoh, his arms continued in practiced motions the whole time until two steaming bowls of ramen were set on the counter.

"Dig in, then." He said, and then to Rukawa - "I made you Sendoh's favourite. I hope you like it." Rukawa felt like Sendoh's girlfriend.

"Thank you," He said, all the same.

The ramen was good, Rukawa decided. He even had seconds and a plate of gyoza. Sendoh clearly was a regular, chatting alternately with Rukawa and the owner as he shoved food into his mouth with gusto. Rukawa ate quietly, listening. "-and then it started raining, so we had to run to the station. It's raining so much these days."

"Yeah, and soon it will be autumn." Oita-san said, between delivering another customer's ramen on the counter and wiping the vacated table next to them. "Time really does fly. You guys are preparing for the winter matches, right? Oh, Rukawa-kun. How about a plate of gyoza? Don't be polite, it's on me. Sendoh-kun, you too, go ahead."

By the time they exited the shop, satiated, the rain had let up considerably. Sendoh borrowed an umbrella from the shopowner, insisting on walking with Rukawa to the station. "My house in on the other side of the station, so it's on the way. You know Denny's? It's right above. Seventh floor."

"Hn."

The earlier shower had made the air feel colder, and Rukawa felt a sudden chill as a gentle breeze passed them. He zipped up his jacket and felt a sense of relief wash over him as the train station came into view.

"Thanks for the game today."

Sendoh brushed it off easily. "No worries, it was fun."

"See you, then." He gave a last nod in the older boy's direction and bounded up the platform.

Sendoh watched Rukawa as he boarded the train, and remained there for a long time after.

#####

Rukawa awoke with a start. Blinking once, twice, he surveyed his surroundings and the train handrails came into review. Had he fallen asleep on the train? He looked outside. The buildings looked familiar, so he hadn't yet missed his stop. He sighed again, feeling strangely lethargic. Maybe he was coming down with something. That would certainly explain why he felt so odd. He felt his forehead, but there were no signs of a fever. He would drop by the pharmacy on his way home, he decided. Perhaps a painkiller or two would help. And then he could sleep the whole thing off.

The train pulled to a stop. "Shohoku Station."

"Shohoku Station."

He exited the station and turned a corner. On the other side of the road, he glimpsed Miyagi Ryota, the new Shohoku captain, twirling a ball in his fingers, presumably having finished a workout.

The captain seemed to have spotted him as well, but instead of a friendly acknowledgement, his eyes narrowed in what seemed to be a challenging gaze.

Rukawa was confused. He knew he wasn't well-liked, but he wasn't used to having someone that wasn't Sakuragi on their team look at him with such animosity.

He crossed the road quickly and noticed that the other did not follow suit. "Hi," He managed a quick greeting, bowing his head slightly.

"Hi," Miyagi said. "Fancy bumping into you here."

_I live here._ He wanted to say, even more confused. He shook his head again, feeling a nagging heaviness on his skull. "I, uh, was practicing. I'm heading home now."

Miyagi was regarding him with something between suspicion and confusion. "The station is that way," he jerked a thumb in the opposite direction where Rukawa had come from.

"I… know." His head ached. He needed those painkillers and some sleep, desperately.

"Well, then." Miyagi said eventually, giving a slight nod in his direction before turning to leave. Rukawa watched him take a few steps, before spinning around again.

"We'll beat Ryonan even without Akagi. You'll see, Sendoh."

Rukawa froze.

_Sendoh?_

Had their captain lost his mind? Which part of him looked even remotely like Sendoh?

Wait. He hesistantly looked down as his hands. They felt normal, callused. Then a glimpse of black basketball shoes caught his eye. _Wait, these aren't mine…_ He thought suddenly. His head ached warningly when he tried to recall anything about the earlier events of the day. Sleep, he finally decided. He needed some medication and sleep. He would figure this out later.

No one else was around when Rukawa arrived home. He downed some painkillers with a swig of water and headed for a quick shower before collapsing on the bed, exhausted.

#####

The throbbing headache was gone when he awoke. It was bright outside, so he must have slept through the night.

He rolled out of bed and headed for the bathroom. Releasing the tap, he threw water over his face, leaving a cooling sensation against his slightly flushed face. Then he looked up in the mirror and stilled, suddenly.

Rukawa's heart pounded hard in his chest, like he had just done twenty laps around the court. He closed his eyes and shook his head, once, twice, before opening them again unsurely.

_Fancy bumping into you here._

_The station is that way._

_We'll beat Ryonan even without Akagi. You'll see, Sendoh._

_Sendoh…_

In the mirror, the familiar reflection of Sendoh Akira stared back at him unsmilingly.

Rukawa swore aloud.

* * *

**Author notes:** This was born out of boredom and procrastination, heavily influenced by every single body switch story you have ever read in your life. I'm intending for this to be a multi-chaptered fic, though I hope it will not go longer than 5 chapters (we'll see about that). It really depends on how much fun I have writing Rukawa and Sendoh with switched bodies. Not much of it has been addressed here, but hopefully the next chapter should be funnier, and more fun.

This is entirely work-in-progress, so feel free to ask questions and give me ideas. I have a vague idea of how I want this to go, but as it is with writing things rarely go according to plan. Reviews are welcome and greatly appreciated! Where's the Senru, you ask? Well... we'll get there, I promise.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Chapter Two_**

Rukawa burst out the door, ignoring his mother and sister's surprised cries. He certainly did not want to be caught in the situation of explaining why they had a stranger in the house. Or have to explain that he wasn't a stranger. He swore again, a lump of panic rising in his throat. He needed to find Sendoh. At least, he figured, Sendoh might be going through the same thing. Or… would he? Rukawa didn't know, but his brain firmly told him. _Find Sendoh first._

In the distance, he saw the familiar sight of the Shohoku train station and picked up speed, rushing past giggling teenage couples and families and made his way on to the platform. The train for Ryonan was getting ready to leave and with a sudden burst of energy he all but rammed him against the closing doors until they gave way, throwing him off balance into the train as the doors closed behind him, while onlookers threw him glances of disapproval.

The ride between Shohoku and Ryonan took fifteen minutes and he stood, his right hand alternating between clenching and unclenching on the handrail as he thought furiously. He was with Sendoh the day before. They had played basketball at a street court, and then it had rained and they had gone for dinner. Then he had gone home. And when he woke up in the morning, he was Sendoh. No, he corrected, he had _become_ Sendoh. He looked down with a start, realizing that he below his simple t-shirt he was wearing the trackpants he had changed into after his shower the day before and the black sneakers he – he meant Sendoh – had favoured. He had slipped into them in a rush in the morning, so he had not noticed until now. He looked up again at the train window, squinting until he could see his reflection. Sendoh's reflection stared back at him unhappily.

_This is real._ He thought to himself, feeling the panic that had ebbed away in his adrenaline rush creep in again. _Fuck._

The train slowed to a stop and a chirpy female voice announced that he had arrived at his destination. He walked past the crowd in a daze, nearly tripping on the escalator, and hoped he – _Sendoh_, his brain corrected – wouldn't run into anyone he – _Sendoh _– knew. As soon as he exited the station he came face-to-face with two Ryonan basketball team members wearing their jerseys and immediately looked away, praying that they had not spotted him.

"Good morning, Captain!"

_Fuck._

Breathing deeply, he turned back to face them, gathering his features as best as he could into what he thought was an impression of a Sendoh smile. He recognized the one on the left as Aida Hikoichi, the short, enthusiastic first-year from Ryonan's basketball team who collected game and player statistics. The one on the right, though… Rukawa racked his brains furiously, but couldn't come up with anything.

"Good morning, Aida-kun and er…" Rukawa trailed off. Hikoichi looked surprised, used to being addressed by his first name and to Rukawa's relief, the other boy looked more nervous than disappointed. Clearly he hadn't expected to be recognized at all.

"I'm Kurose Takamine, Sendoh-san." he introduced himself, drawing himself up to full height and then bowing respectfully from his waist down at Rukawa. "I just transferred to Ryonan last week, and Aida-kun said I would be a good addition to the team. I was told you were unable to attend training last week, so it is a great pleasure to finally meet you." The boy was babbling at this point, visibly starstruck, and Rukawa shifted impatiently, scanning the vicinity for the ramen restaurant he had visited the day before. The station was more crowded the day before, so he had not managed to get his bearings, only blindly following Sendoh's lead. "I used to play point guard for my team back in middle school, and also for my first few months in my high school in Osaka. I will do my best. Please take care of me." His head snapped back down into a ninety-degree bow. Rukawa scratched his head, uncomfortable at his formality. Was did what Sendoh dealt with on a regular basis? Thank God Shohoku was a small team, and everyone spoke openly to each other.

"Uh, well," he cleared his throat and the boy looked at him expectantly. He extended a hand and hope Sendoh did the same. "Welcome to the team, Kurose-kun. We look forward to having you here."

The boy looked stunned.

Hikoichi, who had been quietly observing their exchange piped up suddenly. "Oh, isn't that vice captain Koshino-senpai?" he said, looking past Rukawa to wave behind him.

"NO!" Rukawa snapped. Hikoichi and the new boy gaped as his outburst, momentarily forgetting about the vice-captain. He recovered quickly. He had to get out of here before he ran into anyone else. Sendoh was clearly popular, and Ryonan's basketball club had a large membership. Rukawa knew he had to excuse himself before someone realized something was amiss. He breathed and tried again. "Sorry. Look, I'm actually in a hurry. I'm… meeting someone at, "He furiously invented. "At… ah…" And then he remembered. _My house in on the other side of the station, so it's on the way. You know Denny's? It's right above. Seventh floor._

"At..?" The two boys echoed.

"Denny's." Rukawa finished. He breathed again. "I need to get to Denny's. Do any of you know where that is?"

"It's right there, walk straight, and take the left after you've passed the second pedestrian crossing."

"Thanks. I'll see you both!" He said gratefully and sprinted away, ignoring Koshino's surprised cries behind him asking what he had done to his hair.

It took him over five minutes to find the family restaurant, his eyes scanning the countless signs on both sides of the road until they settled on the unlit neon sign that read Denny's behind a parking lot. Panting, but with a newfound burst of energy, he broke into a run, narrowly missing a passing cyclist, who had to swerve to avoid him.

A loud thud made Rukawa turn back to look, realizing that the cyclist had collided into a lamppost and was now looking back at him, pain written over his features. His familiar-looking features…

Rukawa realized with a start that he was looking at himself.

#####

Rukawa approached the cyclist cautiously, helping him to stand. Around them, a crowd of concerned bylookers were starting to gather at the word of an accident, quiet murmurs rising and falling. The face of Rukawa Kaede had sustained a nasty cut on the forehead and was now dripping blood over the fingers he had pressed to his face. The shock in his eyes mirrored Rukawa's own, and so Rukawa lowered his voice to a pitch where the others could not hear. "Sendoh, is that you?"

His lookalike studied him quickly, taking in Rukawa's – Sendoh's - unstyled hair that fell limply in front of his eyes and travelling down to the unmistakable black sneakers. "…Rukawa? You… What happened to my hair?" He – Sendoh – looked positively dismayed.

Rukawa had to keep himself from rolling his eyes. "Look, Sendoh," He said with urgency, addressing his doppelganger. "I need to talk to you." He dragged his eyes over the crowd. "Somewhere private." He added quickly.

Sendoh nodded. "Let's go to my apartment. My parents are out of town, so we don't have to worry about them for the time being." He knelt to retrieve his bicycle and led the way, while Rukawa followed silently, eager to get away from the crowd.

#####

They sat facing each other on Sendoh's apartment floor in the living room, Rukawa carefully balancing a first-aid kit on his lap while reaching out to dab a clear liquid over the cut awkwardly.

His face winced.

"Do you remember when this happened?" Sendoh asked him in his voice. It felt weird, listening to his own voice address him.

"I only realized this morning when I woke up and saw your reflection in my mirror," He replied, hands rummaging in the kit until he found what he needed. "Here, hold your hair up for me," he said, picking up a gauze pad from the pile. Sendoh obeyed, and he pressed the pad against the cut, securing it by circling the bandages around the back of his head with his free hand. Rukawa leaned in to check that the bandages were secure, coming so close to his own face that their noses were almost touching. Sendoh coughed.

"Thanks," His reflection smiled at him when he was done.

"No problem." _That's my face_, he almost added but stopped himself in time. "We need to figure out what to do next about… this."

"Well, I could live with it." Sendoh said a tad too cheerfully. "It could be fun, see?" He pulled at his – Rukawa's – cheek, making Rukawa wince internally. He let out a sigh of frustration. This conversation was not going anywhere. They had matched their stories while Rukawa tended to Sendoh's cut. Sendoh, alike him, had discovered the switch when he woke up in the morning, but after tracing back to their game the night before they had been unable to come up with anything that could make their souls switch back. Sendoh did not look too bothered by their whole predicament, but Rukawa was anxious to get things back to normal, and he could not do it without Sendoh's cooperation.

Rukawa decided he had to change strategies.

"I'll ruin your reputation." He threatened.

"I'll make peace with Sakuragi."

"I'll make Fukuda captain."

Sendoh actually perked up at that. "That's a really good idea," He breathed. "Could you? It gets tiring being captain."

He felt a flicker of irritation. "Don't do the puppy-eyed look with my face."

"I'll miss all your free throws on purpose."

Sendoh grinned. "I'll sleep with all the girls in your fanclub."

_That bastard._

Sendoh watched Rukawa - his - face turn an interesting shade of purple. It was in honesty a delight to see this range of new expressions on his face. Rukawa was a very different person, mused Sendoh. His version of Sendoh frowned instead of smiled all the time, but there was a certain weight, an intensity in his gaze that replaced his own nonchalance, which was interesting to observe.

"Come on, Rukawa. It's not like we figured out a way to switch ourselves back. Anyway, we would have to pull this off until we figure it out."

Rukawa thought about it. Now that he had calmed down enough to analyze the situation, he found himself agreeing that it wasn't all that bad. It worried him that Sendoh would be taking his place at team practice, but at least he trusted Sendoh's skills enough to know that his performance would not be affected. The All Japan Youth Camp had ended, so he didn't have to worry about that for now, and the winter games were at least a few months away, which would hopefully give them enough time to figure something out.

Sendoh watched him carefully.

He exhaled in a resigned breath. "Fine."

"Eh?"

"Let's do this." Rukawa said more loudly his time, narrowing his eyes at Sendoh's smiling face. "But don't smile like that with my face. It gives me the creeps."

"Only if you learn to style my hair."

#####

It was Sunday. So that gave the both of them time to learn about each other – from habits, to family members, to the people they ought to recognize at school. Thankfully for Rukawa, Sendoh's father was on a short-term work assignment in Kyushu and would not be back for another few months, while his mother was in Tokyo where their family originally resided to tend to Sendoh's ailing grandfather. Sendoh had no siblings, no commitments outside of class and basketball, no food allergies, and didn't seem too caught up in any detail of his life… apart from his hair.

Rukawa gritted his teeth, listening to Sendoh's explanation of how to style his hair for the tenth time that afternoon.

"You have to spray it from the bottom-up while it's still hot. You can use the gel after, but the spray is what keeps it up." A hand waved in front of him. "Rukawa, are you listening?"

"I just don't understand why you can't keep it down." He muttered unhappily, picking up the comb he had thrown down in exhaustion, and flipping the switch on the hairdryer with his other hand, which roared to life. After Sendoh has happy with the result, he switched it off, picking up the hairspray and applying a generous amount over the drying spikes, feeling strangely victorious that they now remained pointy instead of falling over in limp strands against his forehead. Then he dipped his fingers into the bottle of gel, coating the spikes well and giving them a final upward tug so they stayed in place, before turning back to face Sendoh.

"There, happy? How many bottles of this thing do you use anyway?"

His face smiled at him. Rukawa glared at it accusingly until Sendoh eventually replaced it with his trademark frown.

He sat back, satisfied. "Moving on," Sendoh said suddenly, "Is there anyone I haven't met that you hang out with on a regular basis in school? Any _girls_, for example." He paused after the word 'girls' as if trying to make an impact.

Rukawa ignored this but thought about Sendoh's question carefully for a while. "Not really," he replied honestly. "There are my classmates – Year 1 Class 10, that is, but I sleep through all my classes..." "Except English," he added hastily at Sendoh's scandalized expression. "And then there's the basketball team, which you've already met. Oh, Haruko recently joined as our manager, but you may already recognize her. She's Captain Akagi's younger sister."

Sendoh didn't know, but didn't think of it as much trouble.

"You… may have to be careful around her." Rukawa warned. "She, uh.."

"Likes you?" Sendoh finished for him.

Rukawa gave him the look. "No, she just observes a lot on the court, so she can tell when something is off with me, or with any of the other players. The same goes for Ayako-senpai."

_You're just dense_, Sendoh thought to himself. "So," he summarized, "That's Miyagi, Mitsui, Sakuragi, Ayako, Haruko, the coach Anzai-sensei… that's all I have to know? How about your fanclub? Any names?"

Rukawa scratched his head. "I think there might have been a Fujii, and a Sugihara… or was it Sugino? Hn."

"No names," Sendoh decided finally. "Got it."

Rukawa nodded, but still looked worried.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Chapter Three_**

Rukawa had never considered himself the sentimental sort. Sure, he had fought alongside his teammates to conquer the strongest team in the nation, but even Akagi and Kogure's moving retirement speech, during which many of the first and second years had shed tears, had barely eked a response out of him. Hell, he was a man, he was the Ice Prince of Shohoku, or whatever it was people now decided to call him. It didn't matter. Rukawa Kaede simply did not concern himself with very much apart from playing basketball.

And so it was a mystery to him why he suddenly missed Shohoku now, when Taoka Moichi, former point guard of the Japan national team, two-time MVP and current coach of the Ryonan High School Basketball Team, standing on the sidelines observing their practice game, had his hands balled into fists and shaking in the direction of the court.

"SENDOH - " Taoka roared, temporarily disabling Rukawa's ability to decide if he should adopt a fast break, drop the ball and stuff his fingers in his ears, or give up basketball completely. "Pass the ball, you moron."

He grit his teeth and passed left to Fukuda, who delivered a quick lay-up just as the whistle blew. It was only the end of the first half of their practice match, but somehow Rukawa felt more exhausted than he had been in a real game. The first years swarmed up in droves to him, offering fresh towels and refreshments, like it was something to brag home to if their captain accepted their drink. Rukawa scanned through the sea of eager faces until he spotted Hikoichi fighting his way through the crowd.

"Great play, Sendoh-san!" Hikoichi exclaimed with his usual vigor, outstretched hand clamped around a can of Pocari Sweat which Rukawa gratefully accepted. "This year will be Ryonan's year."

"Hell if it will be Ryonan's year if he keeps that up," Taoka growled from behind him. The first years cowered, and even Fukuda and Koshino began to walk discretely away, paling visibly. Rukawa turned, hoping Sendoh's face would not betray the dismay he currently felt.

Taoka had his arms folded across his chest. Rukawa was taller, but Taoka decidedly had more clout, his eyes flashing as he regarded Rukawa, although it was Hikoichi he addressed.

"Aida-kun, what are Sendoh's game stats for the first half?"

"25 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, sir," Hikoichi recited without a hint of doubt.

"And his average?" The coach pressed, gaze never leaving Rukawa.

Aida removed his statistics book from under his arm and flipped a few pages. "18.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 9.7 assists and 2.7 steals."

Rukawa was beginning to understand where this was going.

"I know you're more used to playing small forward, Sendoh," Taoka began calmly, although his face was starting to contort alarmingly at the effort it took, "but there was a reason I made you a point guard in the match we had against Kainan. Do you remember what it was?"

Rukawa was a basketball player. He prided himself on marking another player by following even the subtlest of his eye movements, to determine if he was about to fake, pass or shoot. This experience was also extremely valuable off the courts, as he had realized after getting into too many fights at the rooftop of the school building. Based on his years of extensive experience, Rukawa concluded that Coach Taoka was ready to murder him any moment now.

"Your game awareness, Sendoh. It's not just about having flawless technique, Sendoh, but you have an innate understanding of the game. You don't just motivate your team, you need to enable them to do well. But right now, you're not focused on making the game. You've barely said a word to your teammates since you reported for practice today. And now you're just off doing your own thing on the courts. You're not that arrogant Shohoku bastard, Sendoh, stop acting like him."

_Arrogant Shohoku bastard?_ He twitched before he could help himself.

"Sir, I don't –"

"And why do you look half-asleep? You're the captain," Taoka was screeching now, "The responsibility to lead the team rests on your shoulders. Wake up!" Hikoichi was looking at him with a mix of helplessness and sympathy in his eyes.

"Koshino, you take over as guard, and Sendoh -" Taoka narrowed his eyes at Rukawa, "twenty laps around the court, now!"

"But coach," he protested, indignation rising in him, "the game…"

Taoka cut him off firmly. "Now, or it will be thirty."

#####

There was something off about Rukawa, Ayako decided, as she watched the team practice. There had been instances in the past when she could feel a burst of adrenaline from the silent boy, particularly when he had first made it his goal to be the best high school player in Japan, but this was different. And from the way Haruko's brows furrowed, Ayako knew she was not the only one to notice it.

"Ayako-senpai," Haruko murmured in a low whisper as her gaze swept over the courts again. "Rukawa-kun…"

"I know," Ayako whispered back, her eyes still fixed on the court as Rukawa performed a fake to throw off a second-year defender and drove under the basket for a quick layup, earning a free throw in the process. "I know. I'm trying to figure it out too."

To the undiscerning, Rukawa looked completely like his normal self out on the courts. It was a regular practice match, with the first years against the second and third years, and he was in top-form. Miyagi gave a loud cry of frustration as Rukawa dodged his attempted steal and passed the ball to a team mate.

"Did we miss something?" Haruko whispered, genuine confusion in her tone while scribbling in her notebook as the first years' team scored again.

"I don't know," Ayako whispered back.

From the bench, Sakuragi narrowed his eyes but did not say anything.

Haruko turned her attention back to the court just as the whistle blew. Rukawa's team had won and the players were now giving each other high fives. Mitsui grumbled inaudibly about first years having too much energy. The Rukawa brigade began to celebrate, and as usual everyone ignored them… until Rukawa turned to them, and made a gesture for them to quieten down so the team could hear what Anzai-sensei had to say.

Everyone stared. Haruko's mouth dropped open in shock. Even Anzai-sensei paused in his debrief and just looked at him for a moment. It was still not as unnerving to Sendoh as the stares from a few of the girls in the Rukawa brigade, their lips quivering and eyes brimming with tears.

"Okay," said Sakuragi finally, voicing the question that was on everyone's minds. "What the _hell_ is wrong with you?"

His voice was drowned out by the shrieks from the Rukawa brigade, which became louder at the realization that Rukawa Kaede had just acknowledged his fans.

Anzai-sensei just chuckled and dismissed the team before all hell broke loose.

####

"I'm not done," Sakuragi insisted loudly. After the rest of the Shohoku team had left the locker room, he had come up to Sendoh with a look of suspicion on his face. "What's going on with you?"

Sendoh closed Rukawa's locker door and turned to face him expressionlessly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"The hell you don't," The redhead growled.

Sendoh sighed and made a mental note to himself never to do as much as acknowledge Rukawa's fanclub existence ever again.

"You are not making any sense, and I need to practice."

Sakuragi seemed unconvinced.

"Haruko is looking for you."

Sendoh took advantage of Sakuragi's split-second lapse in concentration, taking off quickly before the redhead could catch him.

####

Rukawa thought he must have looked reasonably depressed, as Sendoh gave him a sympathetic smile when he walked into the living room of the other boy's apartment, collapsing onto the floor immediately.

"It's better when you get used to it."

He missed the nurturing Anzai-sensei. Hell, he even missed Ayako-senpai and her paper fan.

"Have you had his image training yet? It's horrible. He makes us close our eyes and imagine all the practices we've had."

Rukawa had not had to do it yet, but thought he had plenty to imagine, even with only one Ryonan practice under his belt.

"Anyway," Sendoh interrupted his thoughts, "I thought I might catch you before I head over to your house for dinner. These are yours." He rummaged in his bag and pulled out a pile of letters, setting them on the ground between them. Rukawa leaned over, running his gaze over the feminine choice of stationery and neat handwriting. _To Rukawa-kun,_ they read.

"There were some more in your shoe cupboard. I had to take these out so there was space for your shoes." Sendoh explained.

Rukawa eyed the letters suspiciously. "You didn't…"

"No," said Sendoh, a little too quickly.

Rukawa looked at him. Sendoh sighed. He was getting a lot of these weird stares recently.

"Okay, okay," he said, holding up his hands in mock surrender, "during practice I accidentally, how do I say this, I kinda just _nodded_ at them and they… pretty much went berserk. I'm… sorry."

"That's it?"

"That's it." He agreed eagerly, deciding that it wouldn't be wise to tell Rukawa about how Sakuragi was quick to sense that there was something different about him. Also, apparently Rukawa was more of a heartless bastard than Sendoh had thought, as any hint of him as much as interacting with people was sending weird looks his way at school.

He looked at Rukawa, who seemed to consider this carefully.

"Next time, just ignore them." The boy finally said.

Sendoh heaved an internal sigh of relief.

"And I don't need these." Rukawa waved dismissively at the letters. "You can do whatever you want with them."

Sendoh's eyes gleamed.

"Okay, no."

He deflated instantly.

"You are really popular with girls, you know," Sendoh suddenly said, thoughtful. "Why don't you have a girlfriend yet?"

"You don't, either." He pointed out, not really thinking that this was the sort of thing he wanted to be discussing with his basketball rival.

"How do you know?"

Rukawa glared at him. "You do?" He did not like the idea of having to deal with a relationship and more importantly, why hadn't Sendoh mentioned this earlier? It was difficult enough trying to play like Sendoh on the courts without raising suspicion, especially when Rukawa was beginning to realize that Sendoh's playing style during their one-on-ones was not a true indication of how well he played in a team. There was truth in Coach Taoka's words during practice about the Ryonan ace being better gamemaker than he was. Despite being the aces of their respective teams, Rukawa could see now that he and Sendoh were two completely different types of players. Having to deal with girls was just about the last thing on his mind, especially since Sendoh… well, he didn't know what kind of girls Sendoh dated, but he sure as hell knew they wouldn't like dating him instead.

"Just kidding, I don't," Sendoh said quickly as he watched Rukawa's face turn colour. "By the way, what are you planning to do for dinner? My parents are out of town, so there will be no one in the house. If you want, you could come over, I mean, it's your house after all and I don't think your family would mind if their son has a friend over. Hey, where are you going?"

"To practice," Rukawa said simply, like it was obvious.

"But… how about dinner?"

"Later," came the irritable reply.

"I'll come too."

Rukawa batted Sendoh's outstretched hand away, but looked him seriously in the eye. "I don't want to play you alone, Sendoh. I want to play you when you're at your best – in a team." Then he lowered his eyes, not wanting to have to answer any more of Sendoh's questions, unspoken but lingering nevertheless in his concerned gaze. "You can make it back for dinner at my place if you go now," He said finally, "I will grab something on my own later."

Sendoh could only shake his head in disbelief at the boy's retreating figure, wondering to himself what could have possibly happened at Ryonan's training that day.

* * *

**Author notes**: Happy New Year, guys! I'm sorry it took a while with this chapter. It was actually pretty tough to write. I tried to keep it light, but there are a lot of practical things to address when you have Rukawa and Sendoh switch souls, like how there would be a big difference in their playing styles and how they interact with people, which I wanted to address in this chapter. I hope it didn't get too boring.

Also hoping that the SenRu romance will somehow just… happen. *wrings hands in despair* These muses can be so uncooperative. Well I feel like Sendoh is trying while Rukawa is just being… moody.

Also, It can get a bit confusing, so it helps to remember that Sendoh is actually Rukawa physically, and vice versa. See you next chapter, and thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**_Chapter Four_**

It was not his day, Mr. Tanaka decided, as he straightened his back and walked into Year 1 Class 10 of Shohoku High School. He wondered why he had ever thought teaching was a good idea. The pay was mediocre and a joke at class reunions, although the work took so much more effort than people gave him credit for. To make things worse, kids these days were getting less and less cooperative. He had just got out of a especially disastrous session in Year 1 Class 7, where Sakuragi and his friends were being more disruptive than usual, and the rest of the class had been more interested to watch him tell them off than complete their assignments. These sportsmen, he thought to himself ruefully. He would have thrown a complete fit and told them to get out of his class, if they didn't tower over him so menacingly that he feared for his life. He wasn't oblivious to the rumours, after all, and Sakuragi and his gang were legend.

Patience was a virtue, he thought, as he stepped up to the podium and set his math textbook and assignments down.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Rukawa Kaede sitting at the back of his class. The boy was awake, which was rare, but he was also deeply engrossed in something outside the window.

Tanaka felt a prickle of irritation but crushed it quickly. It wasn't worth sacrificing his teaching career over something as trivial as getting riled up by one or two uncooperative students. Rukawa Kaede wasn't as aggressive as Sakuragi Hanamichi, but he wasn't sure it was worth incurring the wrath of this boy, either.

Patience was a –

Rukawa yawned and rubbed his eyes.

Something in him snapped. "If you have time to stare out the window and enjoy the scenery, perhaps you would like to enlighten the class how the next question is solved, Rukawa."

The boy looked at him, sleepiness evident in his eyes, although it also seemed like his brain was processing this new information. He stood up, and Tanaka took an involuntary step back as the boy towered over him.

"Ru-Rukawa," He stuttered nervously, the situation triggering an acute sense of déjà vu in his mind. "You know you can get expelled for getting into fights."

But the boy only walked past him to the blackboard, surveying with half-lidded eyes the complicated equation before picking up a piece of chalk and twirling it in his fingers as he thought. Then, without hesitation, the chalk scratched across the blackboard, covering half of it with written calculations to arrive at the final solution with a flourish.

Tanaka blinked. The equation had been today's assignment. The class hadn't even learnt how to solve it yet.

Before waiting for his approval, Rukawa yawned again, shuffling back to his seat and settling into a nice position for sleep.

Tanaka stared after him.

It was really not his day.

#####

"Good afternoon, team!" Sendoh's cheerful voice echoed around the gymnasium walls.

"Good afternoon, captain!" The team boomed back, as Taoka smiled to no one in particular.

"What's gotten into you?" Koshino muttered under his breath as the team fell into line and started warming up.

Rukawa half-smiled at him. "Just thought Taoka-sensei made some sense during yesterday's training." He picked up speed, leaving Koshino shaking his head in confusion.

#####

"Rukawa," Mitsui called out behind him, "Remember to pick up your jersey before you leave for the day."

"Thanks," Sendoh said absently.

"That's mine," Miyagi pointed out.

"Oh," Sendoh looked down in his hands at the unfamiliar red and black colours proclaiming No. 7 on the Shohoku basketball jersey, and then up at his teammates questioning eyes. He kicked himself mentally. "Oh, sorry, wasn't, er, wasn't looking."

Sakuragi cursed loudly and stalked out of the locker room. And then stomped back in again when everyone else had left.

"Stop playing nice. We never pass the ball to each other."

"Well, we can start," offered Sendoh, shelving that tidbit of information away for future reference when Ryonan next had to play Shohoku.

"I don't need _you_, of all people, idiot fox. I can get those rebounds myself." Sakuragi still had to be taken out every half-game, just to be sure he wasn't overexerting his back.

"That's not what it is." Sendoh sighed, thinking to himself that Rukawa really gave Sakuragi too little credit. The redhead was smarter than he looked, and despite his lack of experience was possibly the person most familiar with Rukawa's play, apart from Sendoh himself.

"I know something's up with you," Sakuragi hissed. "And if you are not going to tell me, I'm going to figure this out by myself."

#####

"Why are you wearing Rukawa's school uniform?"

Rukawa froze as Koshino picked up his carelessly discarded _gakuran_ from the floor, examining the Kanji characters for 'Rukawa' neatly sewed on the inside of the left collar.

He cursed internally. The Ryonan and Shohoku uniforms were exactly identical and he and Sendoh were around the same built anyway, so he had suggested that they keep their uniforms and switch only the collar pins with each other's school emblems. He quickly tried to snatch it out of Koshino's hands, but the vice captain held on, with a determined set to his jaw.

"Sendoh," he started hesitantly, looking from the uniform to Sendoh. "Sendoh, we've been teammates for a while now right?"

"Yeah," Rukawa answered, thinking furiously. "Yeah, look, it's nothing. I've been meeting Rukawa on and off to play basketball, so we must have accidentally switched our uniforms."

He saw Koshino's expression change. "Sendoh, could it possibly be… do- do you…"

This was bad. Koshino was looking as if he thought Sendoh was leaving the team, or possibly the school altogether. Until they had figured a way to switch themselves back, Rukawa could not risk either of them getting into a situation like this. He needed to think, he needed to -

"Like men?" Koshino finished in a whisper, and then literally jumped back, horrified at himself for even saying Sendoh's secret out loud so carelessly.

_Wait, what?_

"And you've been keeping this a secret for so long, from me, from us? Oh Sendoh…"

Rukawa backed away from Koshino's eager, outstretched arms.

"We wouldn't," The vice captain finished hoarsely. "Me, Fukuda, Uozumi-senpai, Taoka-sensei, the team we -" His stopped, and Rukawa was alarmed to see the Ryonan vice captain choking up a little. "Why did you even think you had to keep this a secret from us? I should have known, you were acting strange for a while. You were worried about how we would think, right? I am such a fool, I - "

"Er, Koshino, I appreciate your, uh, concern - " Rukawa hastily cut in before the boy could continue, "but this is not - "

"Not what?" Uozumi's voice sounded behind them. "I thought I heard my name."

Oh god, Rukawa thought.

"Uozumi-senpai!" Koshino exclaimed, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

Uozumi shrugged his large shoulders a little sheepishly. Alike him, Akagi and Kogure also visited the Shohoku team often before they headed off to cram school to prepare for university entrance exams. Kogure brought in refreshments for them each time and stayed for a while to chat, while Akagi was mostly gruff, and mostly watched them quietly from the sidelines, although his eyes were sharp. Clearly, despite having already retired, the third years were still very much invested in their teams.

"Not what, Sendoh?" Uozumi said again, looking directly at him. "If this is going to affect the team, I will have to get involved."

Rukawa swallowed.

Koshino stepped in quickly. "Er, senpai, could I have a word with you outside?"

Too stunned to respond, Rukawa could only watch helplessly as Koshino led Uozumi out of the locker room. _I got this_, Koshino mouthed to him before shutting the door behind them.

When the ex-captain stepped back in, he did not say a word, just walked up to Rukawa and clapped him on the back with all the encouragement he could muster. It felt like an iron bar had collided with his trapezius muscles, effectively disabling all forms of communication Rukawa had thought of attempting.

Koshino would not look at him without tearing up for the rest of practice that day.

#####

Sendoh was in the apartment before he reached again, dressed in his Shohoku sports jacket.

"Your vice-captain is _insane_."

Sendoh waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. Koshino has his moments, but he's very reliab - "

"Your teammates think you are gay," He interrupted.

Sendoh blinked.

"Gay," Rukawa repeated, in case he hadn't heard it the first time.

"With who?" Sendoh asked curiously.

"With me." He said grimly.

Peals of laughter filled the room. Sendoh wiped at his eyes, still chuckling like this was the funniest thing he had ever heard. "I figured they would think that some day, after all the female attention I have unwittingly had to turn down." He feigned an expression of mock hurt.

He felt a flicker of irritation at the other boy's nonchalance. "Look, this is not the _time_ -"

"HAHAHAHA -"

"- to be bragging about your popularity -"

"I still can't believe Koshino said this."

"Are you listening to me?" He snapped.

Sendoh had stopped laughing and was now staring at him, mirth evident in his eyes. "And what do you think?"

"I am NOT in LOVE with you." Rukawa said, horrified.

His doppelgänger was silent for a moment. "You invited me to play one-on-one with you."

"That was only because - "

"We went on a ramen date."

"I was hungry. _You_ were hungry."

Sendoh's gaze trailed down Rukawa's shirt deliberately, coming to a halt below his hips. He felt suddenly uncomfortable. "And if my guess is correct you've been doing things to _that_ you don't want me knowing about."

There was silence. Rukawa's jaw clenched, and Sendoh worried for a split second that he would be punched in the face.

But the younger boy only turned away. "That's… because you are a teenage boy." He spoke finally, deliberating his choice of words. "With raging hormones," He added as an afterthought.

The boy was so cute. Sendoh wanted to tease him forever.

He leaned forward so he would be close enough to whisper in the other's ear. Rukawa had not really gotten the hang of styling his hair, he thought as he brushed the falling bangs out of his eyes. It felt weird seeing himself this close-up, but on another level, knowing that it was Rukawa and not himself in that boy, made everything feel more foreign than familiar.

"So, before," - even though he was hearing his own voice, it still seemed like Sendoh spoke in a pitch lower than Rukawa remembered how it was he sounded like, and the other boy left deliberate pauses after every single syllable - "why did you invite me to _play -_"

"I - " Rukawa said at the same time.

The room began to shake violently.

Sendoh broke out of his reverie first, darting forward to hold the dangerously tilting bookcase against the wall with his weight. The books had already began to slide off the shelves. At the topmost shelf, a dumbbell was teetering precariously on the edge, a few metres above his head.

"Rukawa, help me!" He yelled.

Rukawa lunged for it and missed, although he managed to send it flying in a different direction before crashing headfirst into Sendoh. He grasped frantically at the edge of the shelf to steady himself as the weight fell to the ground in a loud clatter. The shaking stopped then, but neither of them had the time to process that the door had swung open, revealing a familiar jersey-clad figure in the doorway.

"What are you two _doing_?"

Sakuragi's mouth was hanging open, his head rotating between the both of them.

Rukawa hastily removed his hands plastered against the bookshelf on either side of Sendoh but knew the damage was done. Sakuragi was not the smartest guy on the block, but even he could put two and two together.

"F-Foxboy…. p-porcupine head… you…" Rukawa closed his eyes and braced himself for the impact.

"You are _living together_?"

* * *

**Author notes:** Sorry for the wait, guys. It's hard to churn out an update with a full-time job, but I always enjoy writing this, and I hope you enjoy reading it too. Thank you also for all the precious comments.

Oh, and the earthquake? That was totally unintentional. *whistles* It's actually Rukawa backing Sendoh up against the bookshelf, but remember that they are in each other's bodies, which means that to Sakuragi, it looks like Sendoh backing Rukawa up against the wall. So interpret it the way you like. That's what I call true fanservice. *pats self on the back*


	5. Chapter 5

**_Chapter Five_**

Rukawa did not know how his life had suddenly become so complicated.

"Fraternising with the enemy, I see, foxboy. The team will not be pleased." Sakuragi Hanamichi, Shohoku's other first year regular and self-proclaimed genius was now making himself at home on the couch in Sendoh's living room, grinning from ear to ear. Rukawa was certain that the boy was patting himself on the back for having discovered their secret, although he probably had no idea how far away he was from the truth. Then again, if it had not happened to him, Rukawa was sure he would have laughed off the idea, deeming it ridiculous. He contemplated for a second to tell Sakuragi the truth, but clenched his jaw at the thought of what the idiot would say.

Sakuragi was watching Sendoh instead, his arms folded across his chest as he waited expectantly.

Sendoh took a deep breath and then did what Rukawa himself thought was the Ryonan captain's best impression of a scowling version of himself yet.

"Come with me, idiot."

He watched in amazement as Sendoh led the redhead in the direction of the kitchen, disappearing out of view in seconds.

"What now, foxboy? You gonna beg me not to tell the team that you're living with porcupine head? Not a chance." As soon as the kitchen door had closed behind them, Sakuragi leaned forward and eyed Sendoh suspiciously.

"That's not it," he said, dropping his voice into a whisper and gesturing with his eyes for Sakuragi to do the same. "Listen, the reason I'm here is because my, I mean, Sendoh's mum invited me to stay with him for the few weeks she is back in Tokyo. It seems like my mother was a close friend of her's from high school, and I only found that out recently. I'm just taking the chance to see what tricks the bastard has up his sleeve. The winter games are coming up, and we will probably be facing Ryonan again…" He trailed off, surveying Sakuragi's expression carefully.

"So…" the redhead began slowly after some thought, "you mean to say that you are living with Sendoh to spy on him - "

"Something like that," Sendoh agreed quickly.

"To find a way to beat him before the winter games."

"Exactly."

"Nyahahahaha!" The redhead burst into laughter. "You devious fox. I never knew you were that worried about Sendoh. It's like that time we faced Sannoh. All of you were scared shitless except this tensai. Especially you, and that crybaby Sannoh ace with his cowardly shots - what was his name again?"

"Er…" said Sendoh, thinking hard. _Was it Sawakita, or Kitasawa?_

"No matter. You lost to Sendoh, and then you went on to lose to the Sannoh ace again. So all I have to do is defeat Sendoh at the winter games, and then I will have defeated you. Nyahahaha!" Sakuragi was now caught up in his own fantasies, and no longer paid any attention to what he had to say.

Outside, Rukawa placed his ear gingerly at the closed kitchen door. There was silence, then some whispers which he presumed was Sendoh, which were than overpowered by the annoying sound of Sakuragi's exaggerated laughter echoing through the room. He drew back just as the door swung open again and Sakuragi strode out, followed closely by Sendoh, who couldn't suppress a small smile.

Well, if he was smiling, then it couldn't have gone all that badly, Rukawa decided, momentarily forgetting about the fact that he had to constantly remind Sendoh to not smile that way with his face.

"I'm going home," Sakuragi declared loudly, to no one in particular.

Rukawa tried not to look too eager.

"Bye," said Sendoh cheerfully in his voice.

They watched as Sakuragi picked up his sports bag from the ground, whistling to himself as he left the apartment. Then, stopping short at the door, he turned around once again to face Sendoh, who discretely flashed him a thumbs-up sign away from Rukawa's line of sight. _Very well, keep at it, foxboy. I won't tell the team, because you're going to fail anyway. The tensai is invincible. Nyahahahaha!_

#####

"He's not very… bright, is he?" Sendoh said, after checking that the coast was clear.

Rukawa nearly rolled his eyes at that. He had always known that Sakuragi Hanamichi was an idiot, although he had never been more grateful for that fact than he was now. Clearly, even after catching him in a compromising position with Ryonan's ace, the thought that the two shared a special relationship had not once crossed the redhead's thick skull.

_Wait, no,_ he corrected himself. _What was he thinking?_ He and Sendoh were not in a special relationship. They were in a special… well, special _something_. But definitely not a relationship. Nope.

He shook his head, willing the thoughts in his head to disappear.

"I'm leaving too," He announced. "Gotta practice. Do you mind locking the place up when you go?" Sendoh had given him the spare key to the apartment, so he could use that to get back in. It was a hassle not to have dinner waiting for him, unlike at his own home where Sendoh was now living, but Rukawa also liked the fact that he could now practice until whatever time he wanted to without having to inform someone else.

"Wait, hang on…"

"Hang on, Rukawa."

There was a difference between listening to his own voice echoing in his ears and listening to the sound of it, and Rukawa wondered if it was that difference that threw him off. He vaguely remembered the times he had replayed the voicemails from himself to his mother on days he was late due to basketball practice and deleted them off his home telephone. He knew how his voice sounded like - low, calm, and mostly emotionless. When Sendoh spoke, however, it gave his voice a certain energy, a lilt to the otherwise monotonous timbre. He didn't dislike it, but there was something about the way Sendoh said his name that he couldn't ignore and walk away from.

"I need to talk to you about - about just now."

Sendoh actually looked nervous, and Rukawa felt the tension from earlier seep back into the room.

Before he knew it he was struggling to keep his own voice steady. "What's up?"

Sendoh's gaze was alternating between the wall and the floor, but decidedly not at him. "About what I said. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to tease you too much. I - just, since we've made the switch I've been thinking a lot about why it happened, like, whether there is a reason, or some kind of meaning behind this. I mean, it could have happened to anyone else, you and Sakuragi, or me and Koshino or Uekusa but then it happened to _us_." He took a deep breath and his eyes met Rukawa's, flashing with earnestness.

Rukawa nodded numbly, not sure what else to do but indicate that he was still paying attention. Thankfully, Sendoh took it as an encouragement. "This is hard for me. I'm not sure I've felt this way about anyone else before, hell -" he shot Rukawa a quick look before continuing, "I'm not sure I've felt this way before _at all_."

Rukawa could feel his heart beating faster. _Wait, what was Sendoh talking about, what feelings? _He opened his mouth but found no words.

Sendoh was looking increasingly nervous by the minute, his 190cm frame shrinking into himself as if that would make him smaller. "You're from a different school, playing on a different team, yet I can't help but find myself drawn to you. And as much as I find this switch inconvenient, I enjoy living as you, going through your school days, attending practice with Sakuragi and the others, finding out what kind of person you are in your daily life. All the time I've been told that I was a self-centered person. You might already know this, or heard this from my teammates. I skip practice all the time. I go fishing when the weather's too good to spend time indoors in the gym. I just… never thought that I would enjoy going through the routine of daily life as much as I am now, in your place."

He was starting to get it. No, Rukawa thought, he _got_ it. He had been comfortable with a life that revolved around sleeping in classes and living and breathing basketball in every moment he was awake, but since the switch had occured, he had been forced to contemplate how his actions, or Sendoh's actions as captain would affect the whole Ryonan basketball team. He had tried to play basketball in a way he thought Sendoh would play, to communicate with the rest of the team members the way he thought Sendoh would. He hadn't been completely sure if the effort he made was simply out of a newfound sense of responsibility in living out someone else's life, but now it hit him. He was curious about the other, curious about the environment he grew up in, and of the team that had shaped Sendoh Akira to become the ace player of Ryonan he was.

Sendoh was watching him carefully.

"And the reason I asked you, before if - if you… touched yourself is because…" He trailed off and took a deep breath. "Because I'm curious about that as well."

Rukawa had never given it much thought before, but today he congratulated himself on his ability to keep his face completely void of expression despite the multitude of emotions he was experiencing.

To his credit, Sendoh kept going, seemingly undeterred or maybe having expected his lack of a response. "I know this is going to make me sound like a pervert, and I don't know how to convince you otherwise so I'm just going to say it. I'm… I mean, I want to know what you _like, _ how you react and if… if -" He paused here to catch Rukawa's gaze like it mattered, his jaw set in a determined line. "If it's okay with you, if - if you've been wondering the same thing, then I… want to show you."

His mouth was dry, and he was experiencing the strangest of sensations in the pit of his stomach.

He swallowed hard and tried to speak, but no words formed. Sendoh, sensing his discomfort, beat him to it. "I just want you to know that I didn't mean to make you… uncomfortable in any way," He said, twiddling his thumbs in earnest and trying not to sound dejected. "I just thought if there was a chance you feel the same way. Only… only if you're game as well," He finished quietly.

Rukawa had never been good with words, so he thought hard about how he could reciprocate, if only to the raw honesty he had seen in the other boy's unwavering gaze. He owed Sendoh this much.

"Show me, then."

#####

In all honesty, Rukawa was not sure what he had signed up for when he agreed to Sendoh's proposition. It was only as Sendoh tugged him up gently by the hand and guided him to the couch and then circled behind him, fumbling with the zipper of his uniform, that _this_ was what the older boy had meant by showing him. In contrast to his earlier verbosity, Sendoh was extremely quiet now, and even though Rukawa could not see his face, he could imagine the look of intense concentration on it, the furrowing of his brows, like how it was on court when Ryonan's ace finally got serious about winning.

"Relax," Sendoh murmured next to his ear from behind, and he let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. With the zipper undone, it was easy for Sendoh to slide the material of his uniform to his knees, exposing his underwear. The air in the room might have been ten times thicker than before, and he was almost getting drunk on it. In his hazy state, Rukawa noticed that the Ryonan uniform he was wearing was actually a dark gray that could almost be mistaken for black, but was still a shade lighter than Shohoku's jet black uniform. He made a mental note to tell Sendoh, but that was forgotten as soon as the other boy's fingers encircled themselves around the centre of his body.

Even through the material of his boxers he could feel the heat of his member and the unmistakable throb of arousal. His face heated up almost instantly. "W-wait, Sendoh -" He tried to turn around, but Sendoh was now so close to him that he almost embraced him from behind, and any attempt Rukawa made to struggle caused their bodies come even closer together until he could feel Sendoh's shoulders around his own and the other boy's defined upper torso pressing into his back.

He started to panic. "Sen-"

"Rukawa," Sendoh's voice sounded in his ear again, half pleading and half laced in something else he didn't quite recognise that made his heart beat erratically. "Don't…" - and Rukawa could hear him grit his teeth with real force - "Don't do that. Please." He stilled, trying his best instead to regulate his breathing.

Feeling the tension ebb from Rukawa's upper body, Sendoh turned his attention back to his hands, gingerly peeling away the boy's boxers. Like he expected, Rukawa was already hard. Experimentally, he ran his thumb across the tip and laughed lightly as he sensed the unmistakable hitch in Rukawa's breath and the jerk of his body in response. The response he had managed to garner emboldened him, and he slid his fingers down the length of the cock, stroking it gently and feeling it pulse in his hand. This was _his_ body, and he knew it well, what it liked, and which buttons to push to get it into a state of delirium. But what excited him, making his heart race even though he hadn't been playing a full-court game for the past hour, was seeing someone else react to it. He regretted not being able to see Rukawa's expression, but as his fingers worked up and down, he could sense the catch of the boy's breath and the short gasps of pleasure that escaped his lips before he could stop himself, and that was enough to send Sendoh into a frenzy. His own body ached, but he bit back the urge to rock himself against the curve of Rukawa's spine, instead focusing on locating the sensitive spot on the underside of his cock he had discovered before on his own.

Rukawa's back arched instantly. "Fuck," He managed to say, but any words after that were swallowed by a wave of pleasure that rocked through his body. Grinning into the base of Rukawa's neck, Sendoh massaged the spot again, earning a low moan from the boy now.

"Sen - Sendoh," In between Sendoh's ministrations and Rukawa's quick, shallow breaths, the usual monotone in his voice was long gone, replaced by a low huskiness laced in desire. Sendoh decided in that moment that he liked seeing Rukawa like that much better. "Please."

"Not yet," He coaxed, circling his left arm tighter around the other's hips as he licked the inside of Rukawa's ear. "Let's try this too."

Releasing the pressure he applied previously, his right hand moved up to the base of Rukawa's cock, giving it a light squeeze near the scrotum. "Does this feel good, too?" His words were met with a loud moan that made the blood rush from his head to the centre of his crotch.

It wasn't enough, he thought. He wanted to taste him too.

"This way," Sendoh heard himself say the words as gently as he could manage, even though his free arm was practically dragging the the boy's neck around to face him. If it was an uncomfortable angle, Rukawa did not say so. Sendoh noticed that his face was flushed down to his neck, his eyes shut tightly as he tried to will away the sensations of pleasure bestowed upon him. Sendoh, too, did not have the capacity to care that his cheekbone had collided rather painfully on Rukawa's jaw as he leaned in to make up for whatever distance that was left between his mouth and Rukawa's own until he could finally taste the inside of the other's mouth on his lips and teeth and tongue.

Kissing was a completely different experience from what they were doing before. Sendoh did not know who moved when, but when he realised it, Rukawa was on his knees straddling his lap on the couch, their erections separated only by the restrictive layer of Sendoh's shorts. Rukawa moaned into his mouth, thrusting their groins together, and in return Sendoh slid his tongue hungrily between their lips in a sloppy, open-mouth kiss. When they broke apart, Rukawa's mouth was glistening with spit, trailing a path down his jawline.

Still in a heated daze, Sendoh studied the mark on the boy's lips where his teeth had been, and was about to lean in again when Rukawa pulled away. "Wait, Sendoh," he said, trying to draw Sendoh's attention somewhere else. But he could only hear the blood pounding in his ears as he grabbed Rukawa into another kiss, this time rubbing the length of his erection unabashedly against the other boy's crotch. The other protested for a second but gave in, hands finding their way to the nape of Sendoh's neck as he returned the kiss fiercely, jostling for control. Sendoh was reminded of the last time they had played against each other in a game - Rukawa returning the favour for every basket he made, refusing to back down. Clearly the boy was the same both on and off the courts, and the realisation made him smile into the kiss.

"…That needs to go," Rukawa pointed out as soon as their lips parted once more. To make his point, he gave a little nudge with the lower half of his body at Sendoh's trousers, which were now barely concealing the bulge underneath.

Despite himself, Sendoh couldn't resist a laugh at Rukawa's impatience."Sorry, I didn't realize I could get that excited kissing myself." He said it like a joke, but in truth was surprised by how aroused he had become, despite his earlier assumption that he would be doing most of the work. What had surprised him more was how comfortable he was sharing the state he was in with someone other than himself, without even thinking for a second that he had to hide it from him. On the contrary, Sendoh _wanted_ Rukawa to know the effect he had on himself, wanted to share this sensation he was experiencing with him, wanted him to feel the same way too.

"Don't get cocky, you egomaniac." His words lacked affection as usual, but Sendoh noticed as Rukawa placed a reassuring hand over his to move them slightly apart that he had never seen the boy's eyes so gentle.

"Let me help you."

With a little distance placed between them on the couch, it was easier for Sendoh to slip out of his shorts, sighing a little at the sensation of being freed from their restrictive material. As soon as that was gone, Rukawa had began tugging insistently at Sendoh's underwear until they were both stripped naked at the bottom.

Their upper bodies remained fully clothed, but Sendoh vaguely remembered that he had forgotten to turn on the heating, and the nights were getting chillier than before. "Here, come closer." He suggested, pulling the other boy onto his lap again. The couch below creaked in objection, and Rukawa lost his balance slightly, brushing their cocks against each other for an instant before steadying himself by holding onto Sendoh's shoulders. Disappointed at the fleeting contact, Sendoh found himself fisting a handful of Rukawa's uniform to draw their bodies closer together, only to be stopped by a warning glare.

"My turn," Rukawa said, and Sendoh watched in awe as the boy reached down and curled his hand around his member, giving it a few solid pumps.

His hands were callused like Sendoh's, and Sendoh nearly groaned at the friction, leaning in to trace distracted kisses down Rukawa's neck. He hadn't expected the other to be this good, but maybe it was just that he was more aroused than he thought at the idea that all this was actually happening, or maybe it was Rukawa's knowledge of his own body's reactions that Sendoh could feel himself coming closer to the edge every time at his touch. As if to show his pleasure, he bit into the groove between Rukawa's neck and shoulder and the younger boy hissed in response like a cat. Trying to distract himself from the sensations Rukawa was dealing him in his lower body, Sendoh's eyes trailed downwards and was pleasantly surprised at the sight of the other's cock, now glistening with traces of white. He moved both hands around it, an action that took Rukawa by surprise, grazing the tip with one hand and squeezing the base with the other.

"Sendoh," The younger boy struggled between breaths. "I was going to -"

He cut him off firmly. "Together."

The confusion in Rukawa's eyes was replaced by understanding and he nodded, returning his attention back to pleasuring Sendoh's cock as Sendoh returned the favour with his hands, meeting the steady rhythm Rukawa had started.

For a moment, the only sound in the room was their erratic breathing, and Sendoh desperately wanted to hear his voice. "Rukawa," He said, unable to stop himself. The boy turned his eyes up to meet him questioningly. It may have been a figment of his imagination, but Sendoh noticed that his eyes were not jet black, but a fierce and beautiful blue.

"Rukawa, have you done this with anyone else before?"

Sendoh found himself regretting the words as soon as they escaped his lips, wondering if he had overstepped himself. This had entirely been his suggestion, and for whatever reason Rukawa had agreed to it, Sendoh didn't even know if the boy reciprocated his feelings, or if he had just given in because Sendoh had said he was curious. It definitely was not in his place to probe.

He felt Rukawa's eyes on him, studying him closely with an unreadable expression in them. Sendoh sighed then, closing his eyes in defeat.

"You're the first, idiot, now shut up and come already."

Rukawa's fingers picked up their pace, kneading themselves into his cock, and the pleasure hit Sendoh in waves. Shuddering, he reciprocated with his own, attacking the spots he knew would please the other from his own experience. The younger boy came first, crying out his name as he climaxed into Sendoh's waiting hand. Moments later, Sendoh felt his body release itself as well.

Rukawa was still panting hard from exertion as he moved away from Sendoh's lap and collapsed next to him on the couch. They were both drenched in sweat, but Sendoh pulled him close regardless, resting his head on Rukawa's shoulder as he collected himself.

"If this is what fraternising with the enemy feels like, who needs friends?" He mumbled, more to himself than anyone in particular.

There was a rustle of clothing as Rukawa settled into a comfortable position against him and a gentle mutter that sounded vaguely like "idiot", but the younger boy made no effort to move away, and the both of them stayed this way for a long, long time.


	6. Chapter 6

**_Chapter Six_**

"So, you mean to say we are going to play a practice match against you guys again."

"No," Sendoh corrected him, "We are going to play what looks like _multiple_ practice matches against each other. It's a two-day long combined training programme for Ryonan and Shohoku."

He stared down at the dozen sport magazines littering his bed, not focusing on any one of them in particular as Sendoh filled him in with the details of the sudden news over the phone, before cutting the other off abruptly.

"When?"

"Huh?"

"When's the match?"

There was silence on the other end of the line. "Er… I forgot."

"…"

Why, for god's sake, did anyone ever think it was a good idea to make Sendoh captain? He knew that Sendoh was indisputably Ryonan's best player, but when it came to reliability there were clearly better choices around, from the level-headed Uekusa to the enthusiastic Koshino, or the passionate but dependable Fukuda. Sendoh was, well, honestly spoken not someone who fit the mould of being the captain of a high school sports team. Rukawa, for all his flaws, prided himself on never skipping basketball practice, but since he had started playing at Ryonan, he couldn't help but realise that the team was genuinely surprised every time he showed up on time for practice. "Did you give up on fishing?" Koshino had asked him one day, unable to contain his curiosity any longer. Even the coach had pulled him aside one day after practice, telling him not to overwork himself too much just because he had been made captain, and that he didn't care what Rukawa did as long as he showed up for at least three practices every week. He wondered vaguely how well he was faring in Sendoh's place as captain. Rukawa had been captain in middle school, but that team consisted of mainly amateurs who were looking for some form of exercise after class, while high school so far had been a totally different experience, where most people played seriously and had their eyes set on the nationals.

"Er… Rukawa, are you angry by any chance?"

He sighed. "It's fine. I'll ask Taoka-sensei about this tomorrow."

"That sounds good."

"Is there anything else?"

"…"

He frowned at the uncharacteristic silence from the other. "Sendoh?"

"Ah, sorry, it's nothing. I'll see you soon."

_Click._

He gripped the receiver in one hand and stretched out on the bed, thinking about what the other had just said. A practice match between Shohoku and Ryonan at this timing would undoubtedly be a good test of both teams' current strength. Shohoku had lost their center after Akagi's retirement, but Sakuragi was probably on his way to replacing him in that position, he thought, although the idiot still had to leave practice early on a good number of days for rehabilitation. Still, by their third year, Sakuragi would probably grow well into the role of a center, although by that time Sendoh would have graduated and moved on to play on the college team. That thought nagged in Rukawa's mind as he gripped the receiver tighter, staring at the ceiling blankly, not knowing why he suddenly felt wide awake and a little empty.

#####

The news Sendoh had delivered turned out to be real, although he had missed the most critical bit of information that the training camp was going to be held that very weekend. Ryonan was hosting, and Taoka had barked at them to polish the floors extra clean after practice on Friday so that they would leave a good impression on "those hooligans". As much as he refused to admit, the Ryonan coach was still sour about his team losing their place to Shohoku in the interhigh.

He could hear Sakuragi's voice before he even stepped into the gym on Saturday morning.

"It's a secret practice, for heaven's sake." Sakuragi yelled over girlish squeals, trying to close the gym door on Rukawa's fanclub, but the cheers of the brigade only grew louder and more insistent. Sakuragi was not the only one who found them a pain - Rukawa himself tried not to scowl as he manoeuvred through the female crowd, gritting his teeth as he was accidentally elbowed in the ribs by one of their ridiculous flags. His entrance was met with cries of genuine surprise from the Ryonan team, drowning out the fan club's cries behind him.

"Sendoh!"

"Sendoh-san!"

"Captain!"

The real Sendoh was already dressed in Rukawa's black and red jersey, waving at him with a grin on his face as soon as he entered the gym.

Koshino made his way to the front of the crowd that had formed around Rukawa, stopping right in front of him. "Well, you're here."

"Uh…" Rukawa was not expecting all this fuss.

Koshino actually looked a little annoyed as his confusion. "You're not usually this… _early_." He informed Rukawa, before launching into a tirade that Rukawa swore he had rehearsed in his head for the past year, only that he hadn't found quite the right timing to deliver it. "Remember that time in our first year when we were playing our first match at the preliminaries when I had to call your grandparents' home in Tokyo to get a hold of you_, _or the time when Taoka-sensei had Uekusa and I drag you out of bed, or that _other_ time you went fishing when we were supposed to play Aiwa in a friendly match?"

Rukawa shot an accusing look at Sendoh across the court, not caring that the other was completely oblivious.

Koshino huffed as he observed Rukawa's lack of reaction. "Of course, you wouldn't remember any of that. Since you're here though, let me just say this again. Sendoh, you are the ace of this team, and now you're the captain. The team needs you, and it would be really helpful if you kept this up instead of skiving off practices. There's only so much I can do as vice captain."

He nodded and that seemed to appease Koshino, who then turned his attention to the Shohoku players warming up on the other side of the court. "Watch out for Rukawa, too. I know he sees you as a rival, and you probably do too, as much as you look like you don't care. But we're a team, so don't get too caught up in your one-on-one matchups."

Koshino patted him lightly on the shoulder and left, leaving Rukawa wondering what the other had really meant by that.

#####

It turned out to be a more exhausting practice that they had done in a while. They spent the morning with simple running drills and circuits to strengthen the core, breaking quickly for lunch before starting with strength training. By the time it was announced that the two teams were playing a practice match, Rukawa felt thoroughly exhausted.

His muscles were protesting even at the thought of running on court, but the thought of playing Sendoh in a team again kept him going. Besides, Shohoku looked equally tired, so it was anybody's guess how this game would turn out. Rukawa eyed the scoreboard quickly. They were 8 points behind, with 2 minutes left on the clock to the end of the first half, and Ryonan on offense. Shohoku still had approximately two turns at offence before they reached half-time, and he knew Sendoh would be seeking to widen the difference to fifteen.

His vision clouded as the sweat dripped from his bangs into his eyes and he wiped it away impatiently, switching hands and dribbling low as Sendoh came in for a steal. Everyone on the sidelines had gone quiet. Shohoku had left defending Sendoh entirely up to their ace, knowing that Rukawa would not refuse a chance to go up head-on against Ryonan's captain. It looked like the typical matchup of the aces, only the both of them knew this was different.

Rukawa saw it then — Fukuda breaking free from Sakuragi's defence, running towards the basket, leaving the left of the circle clear.

"Sendoh!" He heard Uekusa cry out from his right and charged forwards, feeling the wind rush past his ears. Sendoh, who was defending him closely, followed suit. The ball bounced once, twice in his possession and then cut cleanly across the court to Uekusa as the shooting guard arrived on the left just outside the three-point line, unguarded.

The crowd went wild as the ball fell cleanly into the basket, catching nothing but air.

"T-three points! Did you see that?"

"Uekusa-san!"

"Beautiful pass from No. 7. He's the new captain, right?"

"Nice pass, Sendoh!"

"Nice assist, Sendoh!"

The next two minutes passed in a blur, but with the exhilaration of Rukawa's brilliant pass still fresh in their minds, the Ryonan team stepped up their defence, keeping to a five point difference as the whistle blew, signalling the end of the first half.

"Nice work, Sendoh-san!"

Rukawa took the Pocari from Hikoichi's outstretched hand, picking up a neatly folded towel from the bench and stood surveying the court as he drained the bottle in one gratifying gulp. Despite the fact that his team was trailing behind, Coach Taoka seemed extremely pleased by the way the game was playing out, clapping the rest of the players on their backs.

Sakuragi had his hands on his hips, staring at Fukuda who blatantly ignored him. The redhead then rounded on Sendoh, who stood on his left with his hands on his hips, catching his breath. "You stupid _kitsune_, I knew you would be surpassed by Sendoh again."

Apparently it was common enough a scene to the Shohoku team members, that no one else bothered to intervene and went about their own.

_Though _i_f only Sakuragi knew… _Rukawa felt the sudden urge to smile, but was taken aback as he caught Sendoh staring at himself. The other boy held his gaze only for a short moment, and then turned away stiffly, stalking in the direction of the second floor.

"Hahaha! Running away _again_, fox-boy? I'm not done… Hey!" Sakuragi called out against his jersey-clad retreating back.

Rukawa gripped the empty Pocari bottle tight, and then set it down on the bench in a decisive motion.

Koshino, who hadn't witnessed what transpired earlier, noticed and called out to him. "Hey, Sendoh, where are you going?"

"I'll be back," He said, and ignoring Koshino's cries, followed quickly in the direction Sendoh had disappeared in, blood pounding in his ears.

He ascended the steps to the second floor the gymnasium and broke into a slow jog. During the competition season, it would have been crowded with rival teams getting a drink from the vending machines, cheerleaders and sports fans loitering around the corridors trying to get a glimpse of their favourite teams before the match, but the floor was now completely deserted. And Sendoh, who he had sworn had gone in the same direction, was nowhere in sight.

Perhaps he was over-sensitive, but Sendoh had seemed different from before. The Ryonan captain had clear, sharp eyes, especially when he was focused during a match, but earlier they were clouded and unreadable. Rukawa quickened his pace, scouring the corridors for a sign of the red and black jersey. The cheers from the hall were getting louder, a sign that it was about time for the second half of the game. He would just have a quick look, and then head back, Rukawa decided.

He found Sendoh sitting with a can of Pocari on the bench in the locker room and could not explain why a sense of relief flooded him.

"Turn the lights on, for goodness sake," Rukawa managed, not knowing what else to say.

The older boy knelt down to retie the shoelaces on his Air Jordans, all the while not meeting Rukawa's gaze, as if embarrassed. After a moment of silence, he began to speak again quietly.

"That was a nice pass. I never knew you could do that."

"Well, I have you to thank for that." He said without thinking, and immediately winced a little at his slip of tongue.

He wanted to change the subject, but Sendoh seemed to perk up a little at his statement and was now looking questioningly at him. Rukawa suddenly wished he had not turned the lights on earlier.

He awkwardly took a seat next to the boy, if only to avoid having to look him in the eyes. "Well, before the inter-high, when… when I asked you to play a game with me. You told me… that I wasn't playing to the best of my abilities." It was the truth, and Rukawa swore he wasn't embarrassed to admit it, but the way Sendoh was looking at him still made him uncomfortable enough to focus intently on the lockers in front of them as he continued. "Since that time I've been thinking about what you said, and… and during the match with Sannoh I figured it out so…"

"So..?" Sendoh echoed.

He took a deep breath. "So, thank you. I couldn't find a good time to tell you."

There was a long silence before Sendoh spoke again.

"The other day, when I called you."

"What… about it?"

He turned questioningly towards Sendoh, and was surprised to see the other's face completely at ease now. Sendoh was smiling, and for once Rukawa completely forgot to remind him to stop doing that with his face, because his heart had sped up with something that had nothing to do with physical exertion.

"I wanted to ask if you would come fishing with me."

"…"

"But I changed my mind."

Rukawa blinked at him, and Sendoh took advantage of his confusion to press him against the bench, trapping him in between his arms. His eyes widened in realization.

"Sendoh," he spluttered, his hands gripping hard onto the other boy's shoulders in an attempt to stop him. "Sendoh, wait. We are in the middle of a match. What on _earth_ \- "

Sendoh looked up and gestured with his head, so that Rukawa shifted his gaze similarly to the clock hanging on the wall. "We still have ten minutes," he said cheerfully, and ignored the rest of Rukawa's protests as he tugged at the waistband of Rukawa's shorts with his teeth until they were down to his ankles.

#####

It was an odd sight for both teams to see their aces making it back to the match with only five minutes to spare, with Sendoh looking uncharacteristically apologetic, his head bowed, while Rukawa was expressionless as usual.

Coach Taoka had benched Sendoh immediately once he caught sight of him trying to limp his way back towards the courts, while Anzai-sensei had just laughed his all-knowing laugh and replaced Sakuragi with Rukawa at the redhead's protest that he could continue, back injury or not, and why put the _kitsune_ back in the game anyway when he was going to have no contribution.

From the courts, Sendoh flashed Rukawa a smirk before wiping his lips on the back of his armband. And when no one else was looking, mouthed the words which make Rukawa glare openly at him, the memory from earlier still fresh in his mind:

_1:0._

_That bastard._


	7. Chapter 7

**_Chapter Seven_**

"Second years and captains only!" Hikoichi raised his voice to be heard above the crowd, clearly flustered by the number of people beelining for the showers.

"What about me?" Mitsui protested, the only third year on both teams who hadn't retired, trying to ease his way past an eager Miyagi. "Hey, Ryota, get out of there, I'm going in first!"

"I'm the captain," argued Miyagi, batting Mitsui's hand away before rounding on Rukawa, who was pushing the door open at the next stall. "Hey, Sendoh, we're your guests, shouldn't we get to go first?"

He stopped in his movements and shrugged his shoulders. "Go ahead. I'll go later." Mitsui let out a roar of victory and stepped past him in glee into the stall, closing the door noisily behind him. Miyagi grinned, flashing him a thumbs up before following suit into the neighbouring stall. All around them, there were the sounds of gratification as both teams' players welcomed the hot water running over their exhausted bodies from the first day of boot-camp.

He stifled a yawn and turned to Hikoichi. "Round up the first years for me, will you? Let Shohoku use the shower first, followed by our first years." The words rolled off his tongue easily, surprising Rukawa himself at how easy it was for him now to call Ryonan his team, when the first month after the switch had been complete hell. On some days, he genuinely wondered if the other players in Ryonan had figured it out already that he wasn't actually their captain, but were just too polite to tell him.

The Ryonan first year gave him a quick salute. "Aye, captain. Ryonan first years, wait here. Sakuragi-san, Rukawa-san, this way!" The Shohoku first years followed Hikoichi, including Sendoh, who paused when he was next to him and leaned forth to whisper in his ear when no one was looking. "You can come in with me, you know."

He swallowed hard. At that moment, Fukuda stuck his head out of his stall, distracting Rukawa from any embarrassing displays of a momentary lapse in willpower. "Sendoh, could you pass me the shampoo over there?"

"Sure," answered Sendoh automatically, before realising his mistake. Fukuda stared at them quizzically. "Uh, _Sendoh_, could you get that?" Sendoh corrected, nudging Rukawa with his foot.

"Huh - yeah, sure," he answered, still breathing a little heavily, and followed the direction Fukuda's hand was pointing in to snatch up a bottle from the bench — "here you go." Fukuda murmured his thanks, giving Sendoh an odd look before closing the door again. They let out a sigh of relief.

"Just shut up, you idiot," He murmured through gritted teeth, not looking directly at Sendoh.

There was a barely audible breathy noise that was the sound of Sendoh laughing, most probably at himself, and Rukawa became extremely conscious of the fact that Sendoh's right hand was now tracing patterns across his biceps, disguised from the others only by the proximity of their bodies to each other.

"Hey, captain, you haven't gone yet? Go ahead." He felt Sendoh's hand fall away quickly and saw Uekusa walking out of the shower with a towel around his waist towards them.

"Thanks, but I'll go later," he replied, relieved that his voice came out steady.

Uekusa shrugged and addressed Sendoh this time. "Rukawa, do you need to use the shower?"

"I'm okay," came Sendoh's easy reply. "I can take one afterwards."

Uekusa took his hesitation as a sign of respect, and urged him with a gentle smile. "It's fine, Rukawa. You guys are the guests, after all. Sendoh can use the shower after you're done, right, captain?"

His mouth was strangely dry as he echoed Uekusa without really processing anything in his brain and nodded numbly. "Yeah, guests first." Sendoh's eyes flickered towards him, then at Uekusa and gingerly headed into the cubicle the other had vacated.

Behind them, Fukuda had also come out of the stall, towel-drying his hair, and Sakuragi pushed past him impatiently.

"You took forever, Fukusuke!"

"This first-year brat has no manners, as usual," muttered Fukuda under his breath while Koshino nodded in agreement. The stalls were emptying out quickly, players walking out refreshed after a hot shower. Rukawa waited until it was just him and Hikoichi left.

"Thanks for all your help today, Hikoichi. Go on ahead."

Hikoichi turned to him, his eyes bright and friendly. He could see why Sendoh liked the first year so much. Now that he recalled, although Hikoichi had always been on the bench, he seemed to be the first year Sendoh depended on and talked to the most out of the whole team. To his credit, the boy didn't refuse and gave him a wide grin instead.

"Sure thing, captain. Thanks for today as well!"

He watched as Hikoichi entered the stall, shutting the door behind him, and let go of the breath he was holding. Then, heart beating fast in his chest, he headed in the same direction as Sendoh did a while ago, hesitating for a brief moment before pushing on the door.

There was the sound of water from inside the stall, and Sendoh turned as he entered.

He cast his eyes down, trying to ignore the way Sendoh's eyes followed hungrily as he stripped himself of his clothes and joined the older boy under the welcoming spray of hot water. The shower stall was tiny, barely enough to fit one person, let alone two of their physical build, so they ended up having to sidle in, their backs coming into contact with the cold tiles on either side whenever one moved. It was the first time they had seen each other completely naked, thought Rukawa belatedly, although there was nothing special there, since he was technically seeing _himself_ naked. He allowed Sendoh to slide his hands, lathered with soap, eagerly down his front and sides while he ran his own fingers through the other's soggy hair.

It was less awkward than the first time they had done this. He was already hard - from the time the other boy had suggested them using the shower together, and he could feel Sendoh's length pressing rising against his stomach in the much too cramped shower stall. There was no time for any gentleness. He flattened the palm of his hand over Sendoh's cock and got to work immediately as Sendoh pumped him forcefully in return, looking him straight in the eye. His cock ached too much to even kiss, and so he pressed his hands on the tiles on both sides of Sendoh and thrust against his hand repetitively until he came. He nearly lost his balance then, but Sendoh's hands were on his shoulders, steadying him, laughter in his eyes. "You okay?"

His breath was still coming out ragged. "Yeah, yeah I'm good." Then stopped short, embarrassed, as he realised that the older boy had still not come. But Sendoh only grinned and waved it away like it was not important, before guiding him gently to stand with his back to the wall and massaging some shampoo into his scalp. Despite himself, he relaxed into the touch, listening to the repetitive drum of hot water quietly while letting Sendoh wash his hair, then his back, and the rest of his body.

He could make out the sound of Sakuragi humming from two stalls down as he came out of the shower, and waited until the footsteps had faded away before turning his attention back to Sendoh, who had now put some distance between them and was concentrating on lathering soap into his own hair. It seemed like the hot shower had done nothing to relax the older boy - he was rubbing his hair with a force that was almost unnecessary, and Rukawa could see the tension in his arms.

It took him two tries to get Sendoh's attention.

"You sure you're okay?"

Sendoh gave him a weak smile and he sighed, shaking his head at the other boy's insistence. _Well, at least his body wasn't lying._

He dropped to his knees and took Sendoh in his mouth.

"Hey, hey, HEY," Sendoh yelped, suddenly forgetting that they were in a public place, and clutched at his hair in surprise. He ignored the protests, taking in as much of him as he could in his mouth and trying at the same time to get his teeth out of the way, remembering the discomfort he felt when Sendoh's teeth had grazed against his length accidentally in the locker room earlier that day. Sendoh responded by twisting his fingers deeper into his scalp, a throaty sound escaping his lips. Psyched by the response, he hollowed his cheeks and sucked, letting his tongue wrap around the base of Sendoh's cock. Sendoh throbbed in his mouth, warm and alive, and he could feel the ache on his jaw as he struggled to keep up.

He had never done this before, and all he had to compare was from earlier when Sendoh had done the same for him. He tried to visualise how he could eke the same response out of the older boy, keeping his lips and tongue and jaw busy as he was guided by Sendoh's reactions, from the way his knees trembled to his hands tightening around his nape. Sendoh was calling his name out in warning and tried to wrench himself away as he felt his release nearing but he refused, and in their struggle the other boy ended up coming unceremoniously centimetres away from his face.

Sendoh's face was unexpectedly red as he stood up and washed the come out of his hair.

"You didn't need to - "

He cut him off, secretly smug. "You should try that when your knees stop trembling, idiot."

Sendoh's mouth snapped shut instantly, and he gave his hair another few scrubs before stepping away from the shower to allow the other boy to finish up. He had already changed and was drying his hair on a towel when Sendoh finally came out, taking a seat next to him on the bench, uncharacteristically meek.

He broke the silence first.

"You're not thinking of apologising, are you."

Sendoh opened his mouth once but nothing came out.

"If you are there's no need for that."

The other boy played with the towel in his hands for a couple of seconds, wringing it and smoothing it out, before setting it aside on the bench with a loud sigh.

"I… I wanted you to think that I was experienced."

He looked at the other, stunned.

Looking utterly embarrassed now as he ran his fingers through his hair, Sendoh avoided all eye contact with him as he continued. "But yeah, that kind of fucked up pretty badly. I'm sorry."

He was suddenly seized by an uncharacteristic urge to laugh. "You mean to say, that despite all that you've been saying about girls, you've never actually - "

Sendoh winced and didn't reply.

"And what you did with me today, you - you've never -"

Sendoh groaned, hands in his face now. "No, stop it."

"I… I wanted my first one to be special." He said quietly, alternating between sneaking glances of Rukawa's expression and looking down at his hands balled into fists on either sides of his lap. "I know it's funny, and I don't tell most people because I know they will laugh at me for it and call me silly. It is kind of silly, if I think about it. I'm turning eighteen this winter, and everyone has the same knowing look whenever the topic comes up, because I'm a star player on the team and they're all expecting me to have had twenty girlfriends or something."

He could understand that. The hoards of fans watching him at every practice, cheering as he scored in matches, and how many times had he already heard the phrase "you're so lucky you're popular" from his classmates, hell, even his teammates were constantly on his case about his fanclub and shooting him looks of distaste. It was not like it amounted to anything when in mattered, like in basketball, but Sendoh - Sendoh was different. He was someone Rukawa aspired towards, that he had vowed to beat before they graduated, and he had a genuine love for the game which Rukawa shared.

He shrugged. "I've never been with anyone either."

Sendoh laughed. "And I still can't believe that, until now," he said as Rukawa turned questioningly to him. "I mean, just _look _at your fanclub and well, your _face_. You're pretty hot, especially when, when - " He didn't finish his sentence.

"When I'm sucking you off?"

"Yes," replied Sendoh honestly. "Not… that I'm trying to be crude or anything."

He couldn't help the way his lips curved up into a small smile at that. "Dinner?"

Sendoh responded with a bright smile of his own. "Yeah, I'd like that."

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Sendoh's characterization in the SD fandom is always somewhat of a confident, sexy, sexually experienced guy, and for once I wanted to try something where he was less sure of himself and more real, only you'd have to be lucky enough for him to be willing to show it. You will not believe how much I angsted over the characterization here, but I hoped it worked out in the end. Feedback, comments, flying tomatoes are all welcome. If not, thanks for reading and staying with this story.

On another note, I tend to update over at Archive of our Own faster than on here. Feel free to check the story out there. You can find me there under the same penname. :)


	8. Chapter 8

**_Chapter Eight_**

They reached the Western diner near Ryonan just as the rush hour crowd was clearing out and ordered more food than necessary out of sheer hunger and exhaustion.

"Say, Rukawa," Sendoh began seriously, as seriously as one could look while attacking pieces of baked potato on his plate and shovelling salad into his mouth all at the same time. "Do you have time this Monday?"

He stopped chewing just to reply, "we have school", not entirely sure what the other was getting at.

Sendoh waved a hand dismissively in his face. "School? Bah. This was supposed to be my weekend, and look at how much rest we are getting."

Rukawa placed his fork down gingerly as Sendoh looked at him for a brief second before stealing a piece of cut up steak from his plate. "Sendoh, it's getting very close to finals and if you haven't already realised I didn't start off the year with good grades. If I fail any more tests they're going to suspend me from the team."

Sendoh looked confused.

"They tried to before summer but captain Akagi somehow managed to convince them. Now that he's gone though," Rukawa had a sudden mental image of Ayako dragging them by the collar to the teachers' office and winced internally.

The boy was now grinning as his spoke. "Ah, that. Don't worry, I've got that under control. I've done all this stuff before so it's easy. I've handed in all your assignments on time too, so it'll be fine if you skip a class or two."

"Well, why don't you start worrying about _yourself_ then," he reminded the other. He had tried to stay awake in Sendoh's classes more than he ever did for his own, but the other boy was still a year ahead, and Rukawa was not sure he had enough of a first year education to build upon. "I definitely need help if Sendoh Akira is planning to move on to third year."

Sendoh was staring at him with amusement in his eyes. "The great Rukawa Kaede is actually making an effort so I don't end up repeating a year. Are you secretly afraid I'll take away your Rookie of the Year title if we ended up in the same year?"

"You wish, bastard."

Sendoh simply grinned, reached out and took his hand under the table, his rough calluses brushing against Rukawa's knuckles.

"…In any case, I'm not skipping class on Monday." He tried to ignore the way his voice shook a little as he spoke.

Sendoh opened his mouth, ready to protest but was cut off by a gentle feminine voice behind him.

Akagi Haruko had entered the restaurant, with a visibly exhausted but happy-looking Sakuragi towering behind her. "Isn't that Sendoh-san? And ah," she flushed visibly as Sendoh turned, voice a pitch higher than before. "R-Rukawa-kun. I didn't realise you were here as well. Uh, it's very… nice to see you."

"You too," Sendoh replied, releasing Rukawa's hand quickly.

Before Haruko could respond, Sakuragi interjected. "Haruko-san, I thought we were going to discuss strategies before tomorrow's practice in private."

To her credit, the girl recovered in an instant. "Yes, yes you're right, Sakuragi-kun. Let's go sit over there. See you guys tomorrow!" She managed to say, as the redhead eagerly pushed her in the opposite direction, shooting Sendoh a dirty look he wasn't entirely sure he deserved.

Sendoh turned back to Rukawa as soon as the pair were out of earshot. "She's always looking at me during team practice, you know. It's obvious she has a thing for you. Although it seems to me that she's much more comfortable with Sakuragi. Think they'll get together eventually?"

Rukawa shrugged, dousing his fries with more ketchup. "I don't really care." He said in his classic flat, emotionless tone, and then looked puzzled as Sendoh started laughing.

"I've thought this for a while since our first friendly, but you and Sakuragi really have a warped way of interacting and encouraging each other."

He was now annoyed. "I do not encourage that idiot in any way, shape or form."

"And I'll bet Sakuragi is going to tell me the same thing," Sendoh chuckled, and then continued a little more seriously. "You guys work well together, though. I try to recreate that then sort of chemistry when I'm playing on your team, but it's not really the same somehow. How do you do it?"

"Do… what?"

The boy gestured vaguely. "Egg each other on to perform during a match."

He was indignant. "_I'm_ the only one performing."

Sendoh shook his head at him, smiling.

"Well, then…" He thought for a couple of seconds before answering, "just treat him like the idiot he is, I guess."

"So I should just insult him whenever I get the chance."

"Yes," he agreed wholeheartedly.

"You don't do that with others, though." Sendoh mused. "I haven't seen you being as engaged with anyone else to be rude to them on purpose."

He gave that observation about two seconds of thought. "That's because no one else is as idiotic."

Sendoh glanced at him thoughtfully. "Maybe you guys don't really hate each other then."

He looked up, annoyed at how persistent the older boy was being. "He punched me in the face the first time we met. I didn't stop bleeding for an hour after. I'm pretty sure I didn't like him very much after that."

Sendoh laughed aloud. "Did he really? Wow, I didn't know that."

The other seemed to find this bit of information really fascinating, although he didn't ask any more questions due to the expression of annoyance he had on his face. Shrugging, Rukawa left him to it, taking advantage of the other's lapse in attention to switch their plates and devour the leftovers on Sendoh's plate.

#####

The schedule for the second day of training camp ended up being practice matches back to back, with both teams experimenting with different lineups which gave their non-regulars a chance to compete. Taoka kept Rukawa on all of the lineups as point guard, evidently trying to get him used to the position. It was exhausting, but he was also grateful knowing that he would have built up his stamina in the course of the camp.

In the very last match of the day, both teams reverted to their regular lineups, with the retired Ikegami volunteering to referee.

Neither team had the spare energy left to shout their greetings, so they briefly nodded at one another before getting into position.

Uekusa jogged beside Rukawa, wanting to talk before the game began. "Rukawa looks exceptionally serious. Should we try a different strategy to prevent him from scoring? It would be good to end the camp on a high note."

He stole a look at Sendoh, who was indeed wearing an expression of intense focus, and shook his head. "I've got this."

Uekusa winked at him good-naturedly. "I knew you would say that, captain," he said, taking a few steps away from Rukawa into man-to-man defence position, as the whistle blew and Sakuragi won the jump ball. "Just make sure you ask Taoka-sensei to cut the number of laps if it doesn't work out," he joked.

Miyagi now had control of the ball, and looked like he was going to attempt to slice in by himself for a second, but made a brilliant pass to Sendoh, whom Rukawa had been marking. Rukawa followed quickly, leaping up in the air as Sendoh did, and then blinked in confusion as the ball never left the other boy's outstretched hands. The second they landed on the ground, he caught a brilliant flash of red hair out of the corner of his eye before Sakuragi made a powerful dunk and the Shohoku bench roared their approval.

"Hanamichi!"

"Sakuragi-kun!"

The ball came into his possession as Shohoku quickly went back into defence mode. He tried to ignore how bitter he felt by missing that simple fluke and focused on the Ryonan players on court. They were spread out enough, Koshino had jostled for a good position on the left, he could pass the ball there and…

Sendoh slapped the ball away from his hands. He cursed under his breath when the whistle didn't blow and gave chase. He had become a lot better at defence since spring, and the rest of Shohoku's players had not recovered quickly enough to make full use of Sendoh's earlier steal, so marking him became easier. Five seconds left. He was putting enough pressure on the other. _Three. Two._

As expected, the ball was passed outside the circle to Sakuragi. He and Sendoh moved to a side, waiting for another opportunity as they watched Sakuragi tried but failed to escape Fukuda's sharp defence.

"Damn it Fuku-chan," hollered Sakuragi, feet skidding on the wooden floor as he came to an abrupt stop and then threw the ball towards the board with all his might. It flew at a strange angle towards him and Sendoh, looking very much like one of the redhead's suicide plays which were common in his earlier days. Rukawa shook his head internally, preparing for the rebound, but Sendoh beat him to it, leaping up, and what had seemed like a last ditch attempt at scoring ended up with the ball flying right into Sendoh's hands in perfect timing for the boy to slam it into the basket.

There was a confused silence before the crowd exploded.

Rukawa and Sakuragi passing the ball to each other was strange, but possible.

Sakuragi setting up a perfectly calculated pass for Rukawa's alley hoop, however, was a different matter altogether.

Ayako looked up from her notebook for a moment, and then scratched a quick note on the ear of a page. _Rukawa Sakuragi - get them to practice together?_

"TIME!," hollered Taoka from the bleachers, visibly upset. Rukawa tried to control his own disbelief as he watched Sendoh and Sakuragi exchange a high five. Shohoku's side was wild with cheering now, celebrating the start of something new. Indeed, it was a play that neither Sakuragi nor Rukawa himself would have imagined possible, and would not have happened if not for the fact that Sendoh was now playing on the Shohoku's team.

Even Sakuragi looked pleasantly surprised. "That wasn't too bad at all…" he started to say, then quickly covered up his praise by yelling at an even greater volume. "Of course, credit must be fully given to the great _tensai_. Hahahaha!" Anzai-sensei's glasses were gleaming, the old man looking happier than Rukawa had ever remembered him looking when either Sakuragi or himself had scored individually in an official match. He felt almost jealous of Sendoh at that point.

Coach Taoka was surprisingly calm as he addressed the team. "I know this new development isn't good news for us," he began, directing his gaze at Rukawa and Fukuda in particular, "but fortunately this is a practice match, not an official one. Both of you - step up your defence. Watch out for their passes - they obviously have learnt to do that now. Let's figure out what else Anzai-sensei has up his sleeve before the end of today."

"We definitely need to check this," echoed Hikoichi, pen in one hand and notebook in the other.

The whistle blew, and Rukawa knelt to retrieve the ball from the end of the court, trying not to wince at the growing strain in his thighs as he did. Ryonan had chalked up more wins than Shohoku throughout the camp, but deep down he had hoped to win the very last match of the day. Like Uekusa had said, ending with a bang was ideal. Sports was about momentum, and Shohoku was a team they were expected to meet in the official semi-finals or finals, which made any positive momentum, even in a practice game, important. With his exhaustion peaking after all the earlier matches, Shohoku's explosive play right from the beginning was just about the worst situation he had envisioned.

Sendoh was waiting for him at the side of the court. "What did you think of my new strategy?"

Too tired to speak, Rukawa just stared at the other blankly.

"It turns out that talking to Sakuragi is more effective than insulting him, but what do I know?" Sendoh was smiling, a hint of challenge in his words. It was exactly the way Rukawa remembered the elder boy to be when he first met him months ago, when he tasted defeat in his budding high school basketball life. And now, the older boy leaned over to whisper in his ear. "You don't have to hold back. Whether I'm playing for Ryonan or Shohoku, my focus is always on winning. So show me everything you've got, _captain_."

Blood pounded in his ears.

This bastard meant war.

#####

"…I know I said not to hold back, Rukawa, but that was really something."

To everyone's surprise, Ryonan had proceeded to flatten Shohoku in the final practice match of the day, their captain gaining a burst of newfound energy after the first timeout to carry the team with captivating one-man plays. "Seriously, where," Sendoh demanded, still trying to catch his breath, "did you even get that energy after four practice matches to spring those dunks on us? Were you just conserving your strength all the while? Like what you did in our summer match?"

Although secretly pleased, he kept up the pretence of nonchalance. "I received a bit of help from some idiot who provoked me."

Sendoh just stared at him fearfully.

"I'm never going to piss you off again."

"Oh, no, it's fine. It all worked out in the end."

"Sorry."

"It's okay."

"…I mean it."

"I know. Leave it, Sendoh -"

"Then will you let go of me?"

He leaned in to whisper in the ear of the other boy who was less than amused at being trapped between his arms and the wall of the shower stall. "I now have the body of a second year going on third in a high school basketball club, so _you_," Sendoh winced as he felt the sensation of teeth tracing the outline of his ear, "need to be very careful about what you say to me, okay, _little first year?_"

Sendoh made a last ditch attempt to salvage the situation. "I'm exhausted. I've been running around on court for the past five hours. And we have school tomorrow. Shouldn't you be heading home to rest by now, instead of hanging out in the club shower room? Everyone else has already gone home, you know?"

He grabbed the other's chin, silencing his struggles by kissing him full on the lips.

"You shouldn't underestimate Ryonan's training."


End file.
